I just bought my first Datsun that runs!!! I am very excited. It is a 1972 PL 521 with only 72,000 original miles. It has ther original 4 speed and runs good. The clutch slips allot and needs to be replaced. I figured that i would just swap the entire trans for a 5 speed instead of doing the clutch.
I also need to take a look at the brakes because it takes alot of pedal effort (almost pushing it to the floor) in order to get them to grab. The truck also pulls left when the brakes are applied.
The motor runs good altho i think the webber carb is running very ritch, i will need to have that looked at.
If any of you have any experience with any of these things i would love any advice you would give.

P.S.
The stake bed is for sale if anyone wants it. I want to get rid of it quickly so am open to offers.
Thanks,

-David
[email protected]

Welcome!
I like the stake bed...makes it unique.

My guess is that your front right brake is not working....making it pull to the left and really hard to stop.  Plus your back brakes are probably not adjusted right....makes for too much pedal movement.

Make sure the clutch throwout bearing arm has a little bit of wiggle in it.  If it's tight, it could be out of adjustment or the cylinders are having a problem.  Also make sure the pedal linkage under the dash has a small amount of play in it.  I'd definitely check both of those before calling the clutch toast.  Bad clutch is highly likely, but those are two easy checks just to be sure.  I've seen several guys replace their clutch and still have trouble because of the cylinders.

if my front right brake isnt working what could the causes of that be? and possible solutions? Thanks.

Welcome to the forum!

Your right front brake....possible that your brake piston is stuck or your brake line is clogged. I have had that happen to me before.

Check out Ken's post from the 320 section, there might be some info to help you out there:

http://www.olddatsunpickuplovers.com/vi ... ght=brakes

Also you can look here: http://www.the620.com/620tech.htm

See you around!

Aaron:dude:

thanks for the advice. if the cylinder is stuck can it be free'd up, and how? what are my ways to touble shoot this?
Thanks,
David

If the right one is stuck in, then your pedal would stay high, it would pull to the left and you'd still get okay braking since the backs should kick in still. 

If it's stuck out, then the right front would most likely be dragging.

I would guess that there's been a leak in the front right corner and your backs are not adjusted right.  Just a guess at this point.

To troubleshoot it, you're going to have to pull the brake drums off and check each of them.  Parts are still available if you want to keep it stock.  There are also a couple of disc options (front and rear) if you want to go that route. 

Go to the 620 link Aaron put up and download the factory manuals for reference.

Then....take pics as you work and let us know what the problem turns out to be and what the fix is....so the rest of us can learn

Find out anything with the clutch linkage yet?

Thanks for the tips and advice. I plan on working on the truck this Saturday with my father inlaw. He has a driveway/garage that i can use (i live in a condo without garage space). My plan is to put in a new clutch, replace the 4 speed with a junk yard 5 speed, and troublushoot the brakes. (i will take pics for sure) The fluid in the master clyender is not deminishing, so i dont think it is a leak. are the lines seperate between the front driver and pasanger sides? could their be alot of air in the right/passanger side line causing this problem? i would think that if the pass side drum is stuck in the "nutral" possition that their would still be alot of resistance on the pedal when the brakes are applied. I will start wi pulling the drums and bleding the brakes unless anybody would sugest diffrently. And thanks for the info on the Manual download.
Thanks to everyone.
-David

Once you jack the front end up, you can have someone push on the pedal while you're rotating the pass side wheel.  If it turns easily until they push the pedal and then it gets really hard, it's working, just out of adjustment.  If the resistance doesn't increase, then the cylinder is stuck in(neutral).

The single line from the m/c(master cyl) goes across the firewall to a union that splits the line out to three other lines.  Two go to the fronts and one to the rear.

As for the air...you'll find out when you bleed it

...oh....it was probably just the way it read in your post...but do make sure you put the drum back on before you bleed them or the wheel cyls will over extend. 

If you have too much grief getting the drum separated from the hub, just take the hub off with it.  You don't have that option on the backs.

Thanks for all of the help mklotz70 . I took you advice checked the ajustment on the clutch fork, loosened it about 3-4 turns took her for a test drive and got a good solid tire chirp (almost spin) going into 2nd gear.... woo hooo.... now i can return the clutch kit and have another $150 to play with. Thanks for that info. I have a feeling that the brakes are just out of adjustment, or at least i hope so. I will find out tomorrow when i take a look at them and also pit in the 5-speed. Does my old 4-speed have any value or should i just junk it. What is it worth if it does have a value?
Thanks,
-David

Sweet!!  Glad to hear it was something simple....and free!   You're more than welcome.  I get lucky every now and then

Sorry, but there's no real value on the 4spd.  I've seen guys send them to scrap when they couldn't even give them away.  You might get lucky and find someone that just killed there trans and will give $25 for it.  I took one and cut the bellhousing off about 2.5" back from the front.  I then milled it even.  The plan is to mount it between the engine and the engine stand.....then I can have the flywheel on the engine and mount the starter.  I can then crank the starter to check compression and such

Let us know how the brakes turn out.

well picked up a trans from the wrecker today (i asked him for a short tail 5-speed from an 83 pick up. I hope that is right). Then went to the inlaws house and pulled the trans. Their are a few diffrences between the old 4 speed and the new trans that are concerning. dont know if this is normal or if i should return the trans and get a diffrent one. Here are the thngs i noticed. The new trans is stamped NMCA Z4. DONT KNOW IF THIS IS HELPFULL.

1. If you make the shifter vertical, the starter and other holes dont line up. (the trans would have to be mounted at an angel in order to bolt up.

2. the mount for the starter does not have holes all of the way through. they are threaded and the starter monuts with just bolts rather than bolt & nut.

3. Stock 4 speed shifter will not fit the new trans. they attach diffrently.

4. the 4 speed has a spline output that also has threads at the tip for the nut to fasten the drive shaft conector. the 5-speed is just a spline shaft with no threads.

5. not all of the bolt holes on the 5 speed will line up on the motor. Appx 4 or 5 will.

6. the "dust shield that mounts in between the trans and the motor at the botom does not line up for the most part.


This defenatly isnt a direct bolt in swap. but will it work. should i just look to return the trans and get a new one? i think i can modify the trans mount to work but what about the "dust shield" and shifter. what other problems could i have?

Any help idintifying the curent 5 speed i have (is it from a 200sx?), or help on being able to ID the trans i want would be greatly appreciated.

I have attached a pic of the trans's. I will be working on this again tomorrow. If anyone could be of any help please call me 626-201-0404 i dont know how often i will be checking the computer.

Thanks a million.
-David

You're in an area I can't be of much help in. 

The '83 pickup had a NAP-Z engine in it, so basically....no...it's not the right trans.  You can make it work, but it will be tilted to the side and is too much bother.

The 200zx trans you're looking for is refered to as a "dogleg" tranny because the shift pattern is different.  They are getting a bit harder to find.  I doubt you'll be able to simply walk into a yard and find one.  There are some other 5spd options, but they're a lot harder to put in because they are the long tail. 

Sorry, I can't help much more on the trans. 

So the 5-speed is in and the truck is on the road again!

Here is the story behind the swap, and the problems i ran into.

Day #1
Picked up the trans on Saturday afternoon and off to my father in-laws to start the job. The 4-speed came out pretty easily, a few tough bolts but no problems. once i had the trans out i could see that the 5-speed i had picked up did not have the same bolt pattern, and would require the trans to be rotated clockwise about 10 or 20 degrees in order to bolt up (NAPS Z). Even with that i was unsure if it would work. At that point the salvage yard / trans shop was closed so we called it a day.

Day #2
Luckily the salvage yard / trans shop was open and i went and explained that they had not given me the trans i had been looking for. The owner was very nice and wanted to find a way to help even though their written policy is no returns, no refunds. After searching through his inventory i was only able to find a long tale trans from a 1980 280z. this had the right front case but would not bolt directly in due to the long tail. I felt stuck and did not know what to do. I gave Jock a call Bills Datsun (Datsun shop in Oregon). Jock is a great guy I have never met him and have yet to purchase anything from his shop but he had no problem talking with me and providing me with a bunch of advice. He informed me that if i could take the front case from the 280Z and short tail from NAPS Z and have those put together than the trans would work. This would require three things... NAPS Z trans (this is the first trans i incorrectly bought) The 280 Z trans and a trans mechanic to put them together. Well I was in luck. The owner of the salvage yard / trans shop was awesome, for some reason he felt in debt to me and gave me the 280 z trans to use in the hybrid, he also had his transmission man put it together for me including a new throw-out bearing. Awesome!!! Got back and with a little elbow grease got the trans in the trans mount needed to be shortened about 1 3/4" which wasn’t to hard. The truck was good to go until i noticed we had created a crack in the hose for the clutch slave. Once again it was too late to go searching for parts, so i called it a day.

Day #3
All the local Corporate auto parts stores wanted $40 or more for the hose and weren’t going to get it in for 3+ days. This option did not work for me as it was already Monday and i had called in sick to finish the project. I found a smaller parts shop that could get it for me with an hour and for only $16.00 . Sold I came back an hour later for the guy to tell me it did not come with the shipment from the hub and that it would be tomorrow. That did not work for me so i got directions and went to the hub myself. Get the hose and the part looked correct but would not thread into the slave (i brought it with me fearing this problem). After another hour of phone calls and stops at parts stores near the parts hub i decided to see if the brake line was the same thing. IT WAS!!!! I got on the phone and had the guy change the order with his hub from the original order to the brake hose and i was off to finish the job. the clutch adjustment was way off so we had to adjust than and then the job was done. The truck has since driven me home and to work appx 45 miles and it feels good no noises or grinds. It is amazing to be on the freeway and not redlined. it seems like on the new 5-speed even the 4 gear ratio is taller than 4th in the 4-speed. Thanks for all of the help. It will be a little bit before i start another mod to the truck but i will post when i do. Next on the list is bucket seats and a long tube header from Bills Datsun in OR.

That's awesome!!! I'm really glad to hear you got it worked out! I've been past Bill's many times, even talked with Jock on the phone....but I've never stopped in.

I completely forgot about that option.  It's actually highlighted in a thread on Ratsun.  In fact, I have a 4 spd (for the bellhousing) and a napz 5 spd for the gearing.  It won't work with the 4spd that comes out of the trucks.  I do have the right one.